Agricultural implements, such as cultivators, disc harrows, seeders, and/or the like, perform one or more agricultural operations while being towed across a field by a suitable work vehicle, such as in agricultural tractor. In this regard, agricultural implements often include one or more sensors mounted thereon to monitor various parameters associated with the performance of such agricultural operations. For example, some agricultural implements include one or more cameras or other vision-based sensors that capture images of the soil and/or plants within the field. Thereafter, such images may be processed or analyzed to determine one or more parameters associated with the condition of soil and/or plants, such as parameters related to soil roughness, plant health, weed growth, and/or the like.
During the performance of many agricultural operations, the implement typically generates large amounts of dust and other airborne particulate matter. In this regard, dust may adhere to the lens(es) of the camera(s) mounted on the implement in such a manner that one or more pixels of the cameras(s) are obscured or otherwise blocked from receiving light. Furthermore, large amounts of dust present within the field(s) of view of the camera(s) may also obscure various pixels of the camera(s). Image data captured by cameras having obscured pixels may have low quality, thereby resulting in poor camera performance.
Accordingly, an improved system and method for monitoring sensor performance on an agricultural machine would be welcomed in the technology.